Tolerate: to allow;exist or occur without interference.
Intolerance: unable or indisposed to tolerate; unwillingness to recognise and respect

I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.

Gluten and lactose are not my friends.

Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.

I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

November 4, 2011

Petite Panettone

Well it might only be November, but Christmas comes early to my house!

Christmas carols are on a 5 hour repeat on the stereo, decorations are coming out of storage, and baking is starting now to stock the pantry and get a head start before the hot weather hits.
I've also progressed to a half-cast on my left arm, allowing no thumb movement, and might-just might, get in for surgery on my right arm before Christmas, so I thought I'd better get going while I can.

Panettone is a sweet fat cylinder of yumminess, made with a bread style dough with raisins and orange peel for flavouring. Originally from Italy, they're a traditional Christmas bread and seem to pop up in Deli's everywhere this time of year. The ones I've dealt with in the past, seem very dry and are usually imported, so I guess they come with lots of Frequent Flyer points and are a bit jet-lagged by the time they get to me.

I'm veering from tradition a bit today by using some gorgeous glace oranges I bought on special, along with honey, saffron, and a splash of Cointreau just because I feel like it and the flavours go so well together.

This recipe can be frozen for 2 months, so making it now is just right for Christmas- if I can stop nibbling it that is :)

You will need to allow a couple of hours for this recipe, there's a couple of periods required for the yeast to work. Fill in this time usefully with wrapping presents, humming carols, or decking the halls.

Soak the saffron in about a teaspoon of warm water for a few minutes to release it's colour and flavour.

Mix the flour, sugar and yeast into a large bowl.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, Cointreau, honey and saffron, then stir into the flour mixture. A nice moist soft dough is what you want here so add the milk carefully as gfree flours can really be tricky with the way they absorb liquid.

Cover the bowl loosely, and place in a warm spot for an hour for the yeast to prove. the mixture should pretty much double in size.

Once ready, punch the dough down and add in the butter and fruit.

Knead them in lightly, trying not to use much extra flour. I used my mixer and dough hooks to get a lovely, silky smooth dough, very easy!

Split the dough between 10 large muffin tins. I used cylinders to maintain the traditional shape, but you can use Texas muffin tins instead. I left some plain - but well greased, and lined the others with muffin papers just so I could see which I preferred when it comes to gift making.

Pop them back in a warm place for another 1/2 hour to rise again.

Bake at about 190*c for 20-25mins until a lovely golden colour.

While they're still hot from the oven, brush the tops with a bit of extra Cointreau and sprinkle on some castor sugar.

Now I do have to say... these were the best Panettone I've ever had! Rich and buttery, citrusy and sweet with just a lovely hint of honey in the background, fantastic! I guess eating one fresh from the oven is a far cry from the cardboard boxed imported models you get at the supermarket, with a whole less food miles too. If you like panettone, you just have to give these a try.

If you can refrain from eating these little lovelies straight away, wrap them well individually in cling wrap and freeze them until Christmas. Yummm...

23 comments:

oh yum! Love the saffron, love their mini-ness, love how moist and moorish they look! No Christmas things creeping into our house just yet, but I have been pouring over recipes related to the indulgent season if that counts? ;-)

This looks absolutely lovely! I love the addition of Saffron - too delicious! Christmas has not yet arrived...I still can't believe we are into fall bordering on winter! But your post makes me want to bring out some Christmas lights! :)

They look lovely! Love Panettone, even the dry old ones...well maybe not quite as much. Each year I think, yep I'll make some, and give them a crack. Each year Christmas slides on by without having made any. Maybe this year...

Thank you for this recipe! Just today we were in the supermarket and right beside the GF aisle was Panettone and my husband said how much he'd love to have one this year! I am definitely taking a crack at making this one!

oh i LOVE panettone! Toasted and then spread with butter and served for breakfast. mmmmm Christmas. Honestly this is the first time I've really thought about Christmas actually being here soon, and all it entails...dreaming of the toasted panettone smell. so thank you :)Heidi xop.s. I love christmas carols too

Well with this cold dreary weather we have had here this week, it is easy to get into the Christmas spirit. I have been really tempted to turn on my holiday tunes. You might have just convinced me to do so. And, oh my, these Panettone's sound amazing!

I had promised myself I would make panettone last year at Xmas time and got as far as buying most of the ingredients then ran out of time/motivation. You have now provided the motivation I previously lacked, thanks Bec. I didn't realise they could be frozen, so now I have loads of time too - no excuses left that I can think of!

Merry Closer-to-Christmas Dear Readers! I hope you have some Holiday Cheer as we gear up for the silly season!

Emma- Holiday recipes count indeed! Thanks, good things come in small packages, and these are nice and little :)

Sophiesfoodiefiles- Thanks! They are very cute when they're little like this instead of huge big ones :)

Ina- Thankyou! We make a Christmas light pilgrimage every year, but don't put them up outside ourselves (yet!) My husband says he's got enough with putting up my 3 trees and all the rest of the indoor stuff!

Lorraine- I love saffron, and the flavours go so well together. No, it's never to early ever!

About Me

The InTolerant Chef is the nom-de-plume of The InTolerant Chef.She lives in Canberra,Australia,with her husband Big J, and 2 daughters, Little j and Middle C. Gluten and Lactose are not her friends. She also has many chemicals who refuse to tolerate her, and insulin finds her hard to resist. Despite all this, the InTolerant Chef is a healthy,happy person who loves cooking for her family and friends.